1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor vehicles and in particular to a dual support pad for a vehicle door.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices and systems that attempt to reduce occupant injury in the event of a collision have been previously proposed. In some cases, a soft padding material can be used to absorb energy and reduce or eliminate injury during a collision. Yamada et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,600) teaches a door trim energy absorbing member for a motor vehicle. Yamada teaches an energy absorbing member that is provided on a door trim to correspond to a position in a vicinity of a femur of a vehicle occupant. During an impact, the energy absorbing member may be disposed proximate to the femur of the occupant to provide protection to the vicinity of the femur.
Lim et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,135) teaches an energy absorbing vehicle door. Lim teaches a set of energy bolsters that protract through a door trim panel to provide protection to an occupant during a side collision type impact of the vehicle door. Lim teaches absorption bolsters that may be made of foam blocks. Furthermore, Lim teaches that the bolsters are configured to protect the chest, pelvis and leg portions of the occupant.
Lim and Yamada both lack provisions for using a single pad to provide protection for multiple portions of an occupant, including the shoulder region and the hip region. Instead, Yamada teaches a single pad that provides protection for the region around the femur only. Also, while Lim teaches pads for protecting multiple regions, this is accomplished through the use of multiple pads, rather than a single pad.
Palazzolo et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,716) teaches a pad for a door that is sized to cushion both the shoulder and hip of a vehicle occupant. Palazzolo teaches a single pad that fills the entire interior space of the vehicle door. However, Palazzolo lacks provisions for increasing the support for the pad.
There is a need in the art for a solution that addresses the problems of the prior art.